Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng quickly ended a press conference on Saturday when reporters persisted asking him about PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali’s challenge to debate the issue of local council elections.

The press conference was held after Lim launched the Penang Science Cafe here.

Reporters had asked Lim several times for his response to the challenge by Mustafa, with the Penang Chief Minister repeating: “Is there any other question?”

When reporters persisted, Lim ended the press conference with a “thank you”. Subsequently, he spoke on other matters, among them the impact of the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Mustafa had, on Wednesday, ticked off Lim for having allegedly saying that he (Mustafa) was for local government elections when it was not the case. The PAS leader had then challenged Lim to debate the issue.

Last week, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang had said that local government elections could lead to a widening of the economic gap between the haves and have-nots and might trigger a repeat of the May 13 racial clash of 1969.

Foreign Minister Anifah Aman has filed an additional defence that opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim had offered him cash to cross over to Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and in turn, bring down the Barisan Nasional (BN) government in 2008.

Despite facing a defamation suit by Anwar, Anifah, who is Kimanis MP, has also included in the statement of defence that the PKR de facto leader was of bad character and tarnished reputation even before filing the suit against him in May 2009.

Court documents sighted by The Malaysian Insider revealed that Anifah relied on allegations of Anwar being corrupt and had homosexual tendency to mitigate his losses should the court find the Sabah politician liable for defamation.

Anifah’s application would be heard before judicial commissioner Siti Khadijah S. Hassan Badjenid on January 5.

Meanwhile, lawyer Latheefa Koya, who is in Anwar’s legal team, said his client would contest the application by Anifah.

On November 27, Anifah told the Kuala Lumpur High Court that businessman Datuk Ishak Ismail, a close associate of Anwar, had offered him RM100 million to bring 10 members of Parliaments from Sabah to join PR and topple the BN federal government.

The foreign minister had said he felt cheap when the offer was made by Ishak, a former KFC deputy executive chairman at the Hilton Kuala Lumpur Hotel. Continue reading →